Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8464 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
`Glorious narrative history.' --Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph

James W. Wood, Scotsman
'Crowley succeeds in turning the events of 500 years ago into a thrilling spectacle.'

Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph
'[It] is an account of human beings under extraordinary circumstances... This is narrative history at its most gripping.'

Customer Reviews

History as it should be written.
The conflict between Ottoman Turkey and Christian Spain for mastery of the Mediterranean basin had a huge influence on the development of the modern world, yet is probably not something you know very much about, even if you studied history at school. Roger Crowley deals with the key period of this struggle during the 16th Century in a page-turner of a narrative peopled with almost larger-than-life personalities - Suleiman the Magnificent, Bluebeard the Pirate (actually there were father and son Bluebeards) - Andrea Doria, the mercenary Admiral, and a supporting cast of Kings and Popes. What becomes clear is how very close the Ottomans came to extending their Empire into France, Italy and Spain, and how much better organised they were than the European powers who faced them.
The centrepiece of the book is the siege of Malta. The heroism of the defenders would not be believed if it were fiction, and the complex tale is told with exemplary clarity.
You may find parallels in the 21st Century, but Roger Crowley wisely doesn't labour them. Read it twice!

Superb narrative history of an epic struggle
The clash of civilisations is not a new notion. Civilisations have clashed for thousands of years, as rival tribes and nations with varying cultural mores and religious beliefs have struggled for supremacy.
In recorded history, Greek fought Persian, Roman fought Carthaginian (and countless others), and Christian fought Muslim.
It's the latter that we think of today when we shudder at the memory of 9/11 or sigh over the pointless loss of life in the Middle East.
This is a struggle that has flared up intermittently since the First Crusade in 1096 brought a motley crew of robber knights, religious zealots and sundry opportunists to wrest the holy places of Palestine from the hands of their Muslim overlords.
The crusades petered out towards the end of the 13th century, but at least one of the organisations that was born in the blood and sand of the Middle East survives today. They are the Knights of Malta, and while we know them as providers of an excellent voluntary ambulance and first aid service, their history was not always as peaceful.
The Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta figure largely in a marvellous new book which chronicles one phase of the Christian-Muslim conflict, the bitter struggle for mastery of the Mediterranean between 1521 and 1580.
In Empires of the Sea Roger Crowley brings back to mind half-remembered history lessons - the fall of Rhodes, the rise of the Barbary corsairs, the siege of Malta and the decisive battle of Lepanto.
Most people now who think of Malta in military terms focus on the siege during World War II when the tiny mountain top between Sicily and North Africa withstood months of attack by the German and Italian air forces. For its endurance, the island and its people were collectively awarded the George Cross, the highest British civilian award for gallantry.
But almost 400 years earlier, the Maltese and their then rulers, the Knights of St John, were tenacious in the defence of their stronghold against a huge Ottoman army which besieged them from May to September 1565.
The Ottomans, referred to by most of their oppponents as the Turks, although they comprised many more races, were experts at siege warfare. Crowley has already written about their capture of Constantinople and this book starts with the attack on Rhodes in 1522 after which the Knights were allowed to sail away to Malta. Among those who left was a young knight, Jean de la Valette, who as Grand Master of the order presided over and inspired the successful defence of Malta forty years later.
La Valette is just one of the giant personalities who people this account. On the Ottoman side are the sultans, Suleiman the Magnificent and his son Selim; the military commanders, Ali Pasha and Mustapha Pasha; the fearsome corsair Barbarossa; and many more.
For Christendom there are Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, and after him his son, King Philip of Spain; the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria; the Venetian Sebastiano Venier; and the great Romantic hero Don Juan of Austria. Don Juan was the illegitimate son of Charles, half-brother of Philip, and his victory at the crucial naval battle of Lepanto in 1571 sparked innumerable poems, songs and dramas. He was even celebrated by GK Chesterton in his poem "Lepanto" as late as 1915.
If the personalities are giant, the events are huge. Vast amounts of gold were poured into building and equipping ships on both sides, and at times the losses were enormous. The naval battles were fought with galleys, rowed often but not always by slaves, which rammed each other to provide platforms for fierce hand to hand fighting.
The book reads like a thriller. It is narrative history, and the narrative it relates would scarcely be credible if it were presented as a work of fiction.
Heroes and villains abound, often in the same camp. Both sides are capable of great cruelty and great courage. In the siege of Malta La Valette stands in his armour in the front line of the defence as the Turks swarm up the rubble of a defensive wall.
At the last minute, on the most dangerous day of the siege, as in the most clichéd war movie, the cavalry literally comes over the hill and attacks the undefended enemy camp in the rear. The almost-triumphant Turks break off the attack to retrieve their valuables and re-take their camp, and valuable breathing space is gained.
Tales of individual heroism crowd the bigger picture. The commanders fought alongside their men. At Lepanto Ali Pasha, the Ottoman chief, shot dozens of arrows at his enemies as his flagship was captured. Don Juan danced a galliard on the gun platform as they sailed towards the enemy. A man hit in the eye by an arrow plucked it out, eyeball and all, tied a cloth around his head and continued fighting.
The battle was a turning point in history - never again did the Ottomans pose such a threat to the West. Up to this, even Rome was at risk from their ambitions.
Having just finished this book, I am inclined to go back to the beginning and start all over again. I certainly hope to do so before I visit some of the places where great and terrible deeds were accomplished. If you enjoy your history embellished with colour and enlivened with anecdote, this is the book for you.
One quibble, though: it's surprising that Faber, the publishers of poetry, were not more assiduous in their editing. Scrabbling is one word that is grossly over-used by the author, and discrete does not have the same meaning as discreet.

Superbly well written
This is the best history book I have read in a very long time.

It tells the story of a 60 years old battle fought in the Mediterraneum by the Ottoman Turks against the Christian nations in southern Europe.

It is very hard to put down and the narrative is very engaging. The maps , pictures and drawings are excellent , a rarity in this type of books. although there are some minor issues with some historical aspects ( the muslims lived peacefully in Spain for 800 years ) the book is a very compelling read.

More please